''Eight Stone Lions'' is a set of Bedford limestone or sandstone sculptures by Paul Kupper (?-1908) located in Lake Park in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States.
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Description

''Eight Stone Lions'' features eight lions placed at the ends of two bridges. Each lion is signed and dated P. Kupper. ''Eight Stone Lions'' is an outdoor sculpture, and therefore a public art piece. The lions are approximately 36 x 30 x 65 inches and their bases are approximately 54 x 36 x 70 inches.

History

Henry Clay Payne donated ''Eight Stone Lions'' to the city of Milwaukee. They were placed to guard each end of the two iron bridges in Lake Park. "The bridges were designed by local engineer Oscar Sanne to cross the two branches of the south ravine on either side of the lighthouse, carrying carriage and pedestrian traffic in and out of Lake Park, the original southern entrance to the park. The drive curned north from Park Avenue (now Wahl Avenue) along the bluff overlooking the lake."Buck, Diane M. and Virginia A. Palmer (1995). ''Outdoor Sculpture in Milwaukee: A Cultural and Historical Guidebook'', p. 129. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison On November 1, 1897 the sculptures were dedicated at Lake Park, Milwaukee's first planned public park, which was designed by

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

. A popular Sunday activity at this time was to take the streetcar to Lake Park, where families would stroll, picnic and listen to a band concert.

Artist

Paul Kupper designed two plaster lion casts, which Otto Lachmund, a stonecutter, then cast and carved under Kupper’s direction. Kupper was living in Milwaukee during the 1890s, but had moved to California after 1904. Kupper also created a 1,200 pound badger cast, which is now on display at the State Capitol in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

Condition

''Eight Stones Lions'' was surveyed in April 1993 and found to need treatment. In 2014, a truck driver, supposedly following his GPS, mistook the pedestrian path for a road and attempted to drive across the two Lion Bridges. The truck became wedged into the second bridge, and parts of the bridges were damaged, but the lions were not harmed.

References

{{MilwaukeePublicArt Outdoor sculptures in Milwaukee 1897 sculptures Stone sculptures in Wisconsin 1897 establishments in the United States 1890s establishments in Wisconsin Sculptures of lions in the United States Animal sculptures in Wisconsin